


Four Things That Once Happened to Stephen James Hart

by misura



Category: Primeval
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Community: smallfandomfest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-09
Updated: 2010-06-09
Packaged: 2017-10-17 19:24:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/180355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[what it says on the tin]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Four Things That Once Happened to Stephen James Hart

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted June 2010
> 
> prompt: _Nick/Stephen, time and time again_

.01

Professor Cutter tends to leave the door to his office open. He usually closes it when he gets visitors though - or at least he closes it when his visitor is Stephen.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out about it, Nick?"

When his visitor is his wife, apparently, he doesn't close his door. Or perhaps she's left it open herself, wanting other people to hear.

"I was hoping we could be adults about this," Professor Cutter replies (and it occurs to Stephen that strictly speaking, they could both be called that, two Professor Cutters in that office, talking about him, completely unaware he's right outside).

"Seducing one of your students? Oh, yes, that's perfectly adult behavior."

Actually, Stephen rather thinks the seduction went the other way around. It wasn't an easy seduction either, never mind that Stephen knew from the beginning that the Professor fancied him.

"What do you want, Helen?"

"Why, Nick. I was hoping we could be adults about this." She laughs, low and throaty. Stephen wonders if she's trying to do a little seduction of her own, if he dares take a look to see what's going on. "End it."

"You don't want a divorce, you don't want me to date other people - again, Helen: what do you want?"

"Oh, I'm fine with you dating other people. Just not students. Not Stephen. I mean, think of what could happen if people found out about it, Nick. His life'd be ruined."

"I - " Professor Cutter sounds a little choked. "You - "

"End it, Nick."

"Yes." Barely a whisper, now. "All right."

 

.02

He suspects something is wrong the moment Nick steps back through the anomaly, looking around wildly as if looking for something that isn't there.

When Nick asks his question, it's no longer a suspicion.

"Stephen? Where's Claudia?" Nick looks confused and scared, the way he does after a bad dream (and maybe, Stephen tries to tell himself, that's all this is: a moment of disorientation, of needing to get used again to the normal world - even if things have become a good deal less normal than they used to be these past months). If they'd been alone, it wouldn't have been a real problem.

"Oh dear god, he's finally gone around the bend," Lester says, loud enough for Nick to overhear.

Stephen ignores him, quickly closing the distance between him and Nick. "Was she with you on the other side of the anomaly?" Touching usually helps when Nick's like this - granted, it usually becomes a bit more than just touching, but Stephen reasons it surely can't hurt. In a worst case scenario he'll just drag Nick out of there, take him home.

"What?" Nick turns back to the anomaly, frowning. "I'm talking about Claudia Brown."

Connor and Abby look at one another, shrug helplessly, start to look as worried as Stephen feels.

"Why don't we go home? We can talk about it there," Stephen proposes.

"I think - " Lester starts saying, but Abby's caught on to where this is headed and likes it about as much as Stephen does.

"We'll wrap things up here then, shall we?"

"You don't understand." At least Nick's got the wits to keep his voice down. "It's Helen, Stephen. She's - " Stephen glances in Lester's direction. Lester pretends not to be looking in their direction.

"Later."

"Later," Stephen agrees. With any luck, Nick won't remember anything about this 'Claudia' when he wakes up tomorrow morning.

 

.03

He's thinking _'if only I'd been a bit quicker'_ and then he's thinking _'whose brilliant idea_ was _this, anyway?'_ and then he's thinking _'what's the worst that can happen if I open that door, get him out of there? no, really? everybody dies, so the future gets changed, so those things don't exist to come back through the anomalies to kill us all, so -'_ and at that point he becomes aware of Helen, shouting at him.

She looks pissed and maybe a little bit scared.

"I'm getting him out of there," he tells her. Of all the people who could have been here with him, just this once he's glad it's her. Helen Cutter's chances of talking anyone who knows her out of risking the future of humanity to save a human life: practically zero.

"Stephen." Her voice is gentle, and there's a sadness to her eyes, and only a few seconds ago, he might have fallen for the act. It's a little too late to be convincing now. "It's too late. He's gone."

"No." His hands are already on the door. They feel bruised. "No."

She slaps him, no longer pretending to be either grieving or gentle. "He's _dead_ , you fool! The only thing you'll accomplish by opening that door is that you'll kill us, too." He notices that 'us' - no concern for mankind there, just sheer and simple selfishness.

"I don't care." She's lied once to him already; she might be lying again now.

"Stephen. Listen to me. You want to get him back, don't you? I can make that happen." She comes closer to him, slowly, not attempting to touch him. "Just give me some time to finish my research, and we can make it as if this never happened."

"How?" He doesn't want to ask, really. And yet. And yet if a woman named Claudia Brown can disappear and reappear in a different timeline as Jennifer Lewis, then why shouldn't it be possible to keep someone from dying? Everything's got a cause - remove the cause, prevent the effect.

"I'll show you my notes," she says softly, coaxingly. "You can help me. We'll get him back, Stephen. I promise."

It's not really a choice. "Yes."

 

.04

"Dinosaurs?" Stephen's got a lecture to give in two days; he really hasn't got the time for Nick's idea of a joke. "You're joking."

"Not just dinosaurs." In the background, Stephen hears the sounds of traffic, passing cars. "All kinds of creatures, Stephen. Running around all over England. They've been keeping it a secret."

Stephen takes a left turn, briefly considering if he ought to find a place to pull over. Traffic's fairly peaceful though; it's not too much of a stretch to divide his attention between driving and talking Nick out of some wild-goose chase - or wild-dinosaurs-and-other-creatures chase.

"And who would this 'they' be, exactly?"

"The government." Nick sounds a little impatient. "Look, I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm asking you to help me find out if it's true. Because if it is - well."

"Yeah," Stephen agrees. " _If_ it's true. Which, you know, it probably isn't."

"Are you going to help me or not?"

Stephen sighs. Ten years of having known and admired Nick, and this is what it has come to: his being ready to drop everything just because Nick says someone's spotted a dinosaur. Insane.

There must be easier, quicker ways to get into someone's pants than this. "Give me one good reason why I should waste my time on this."

"I hear you complaining a lot, but know what I'm not hearing, Stephen?"

"What?" Stephen asks. Nick probably already knows Stephen's going to help him.

"I don't hear you laughing at me."

Stephen sighs. "Where do you want me to meet you?"


End file.
